Connecting with WIPO

WHO, WIPO, WTO Trilateral Cooperation on Public Health, IP and Trade

The World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are strengthening their cooperation and practical coordination on issues around public health, intellectual property (IP) and trade.

The seventh technical symposium organized by WHO, WIPO, WTO will discuss challenges and opportunities for the international community to ensure that innovative technologies are developed and reach patients in order to realize the right to health and the health-related SDGs.

The three organizations meet regularly, exchange information on their respective work programs and discuss and plan, within the possibilities of their respective mandates and budgets, common activities.

The trilateral cooperation is intended to contribute to enhancing the empirical and factual information basis for policy makers and supporting them in addressing public health in relation to IP and trade.

The WHO Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property, the WIPO Development Agenda and the WTO Declaration on the TRIPS agreement and public health, provide the broader context for an informal and practical trilateral cooperation at the working level.

Study: Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation

Medical technologies – medicines, vaccines and medical devices – are essential for public health. Access to essential medicines and the lack of research to address neglected diseases have been a major concern for many years. More recently, the focus of health policy debate has broadened to consider how to promote innovation and how to ensure equitable access to all vital medical technologies.

Today’s health policy-makers need a clear understanding both of the innovation processes that lead to new technologies and of the ways in which these technologies are disseminated in health systems.

The study "Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation" seeks to reinforce the understanding of the interplay between the distinct policy domains of health, trade and IP, and of how they affect medical innovation and access to medical technologies. It captures a broad range of experience and data in dealing with the interplay between IP, trade rules and the dynamics of access to, and innovation in, medical technologies.

A collaborative effort by WHO, WIPO and WTO, this study draws together the three Secretariats’ respective areas of expertise. It is intended to inform ongoing technical cooperation activities undertaken by the three organizations and to support policy discussions.

Based on many years of field experience in technical cooperation, the study has been prepared to serve the needs of policy-makers who seek a comprehensive presentation of the full range of issues, as well as lawmakers, government officials, delegates to international organizations, non-governmental organizations and researchers.

The study is also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.